


A Necessary Discussion

by blackgoliath



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: M/M, Some ableist language, ahhhhhhhhhh, incest warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-10 05:57:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6942553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackgoliath/pseuds/blackgoliath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After one particularly interesting night, Twin Twist doesn't know how to feel.</p>
<p>Sequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/1073785">Family Matters</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	A Necessary Discussion

**Author's Note:**

> haha so i know i wrote the original like, 3 years ago but ???? better late than never i guess???
> 
> also i know springer is listed as the current leader of the wreckers, and in LSOTW he clearly is, but prowl's spotlight/drift's spotlight have kup in charge? who knows. we're going with kup for this

“What's a matter with you, kid?”

“Uh?” Twin Twist looked up from his energon. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.” Kup sat heavily beside him at the table with his own glass, leaning an arm on the table's surface as he shifted so he could fully face Twin Twist. “Ya been in a mood, past few solar cycles. What is it?”

“Don't know what you're talking about.” But the way Twin Twist ducked his helm and averted Kup's gaze betrayed him. He'd come into the mess to refuel at a time when most of the Wreckers were in the middle of their shifts or recharging, hoping to get some time alone. He'd been doing the same, as Kup had apparently noticed, for the past few days. “I'm fine.”

Kup snorted. “Yeah, an' I'm a Dinobot. Spill.”

Twin Twist ground his dentals. Kup was a stubborn bot; he wouldn't let up, and he'd come at you full on until you gave in. But what was Twin Twist supposed to say? 'I fragged my twin the other night and now I can't stand to be in the same room with him'? Yeah, right. 

At the time, after....Twin Twist hadn't been upset or anything. It had felt _good_ , what they'd done. _Really good_. They'd fallen back into recharge together on his own berth, Topspin's arm curled around Twist's chassis while Twist's servo rested on his brother's, helm pillowed up beneath Topspin's. He'd drifted off smiling and sated. Then he'd woken back up, and – gah. It hadn't felt good anymore. So he'd slipped out before Topspin came to and since then he'd been avoiding his sparktwin like the guy had an infestation of scraplets. 

And he obviously can't tell Kup _that_. “Topspin and I....are just at odds right now.” It wasn't exactly a lie. Twin Twist kept his optics averted, giving one drill-bearing shoulder a shrug. 

“At odds.” There was a pause, and Twist dared a side glance to see Kup was thoughtfully swilling his energon, mouth working in a way that suggested he was chewing the end of his cy-gar. Then - 

“That's stupid.”

“What?” Twin Twist looked at his SO full on now, brow ridge scrunching in irritable confusion. 

“You been avoidin' everyone 'cept when you're on shift because you an' yer brother had a tiff? Bah.” Kup shook his helm, and though the statement wasn't _completely_ lacking fondness, there was still the hard edge to it that had Twin Twist's hackles rising.

“Hey, I haven't been avoiding _everyone_ \--”

“Look, kid, this is the Wreckers, not Bumblebee's spark-to-spark circle time.” Kup scowled at the drill mech. “We can't have little scrap like this messin' with crew dynamics. You got a problem with Topspin? Fine. Then stop sulking and _fix_ it, or consider yerself benched.”

“What! But--” Twin Twist was silenced when Kup raised a servo, and he scowled right back, dentals gritted. 

“Don't wanna hear it. Just do it.” Kup drained his energon in a way that somehow kept him from spilling it all over himself even though the cy-gar was still in his mouth and stood. “Better see ya back out an' about by next shift rotation, ya hear?” He gave Twin Twist that hard-opticed stare that had made mechs more than twice his size back down, then, without waiting for an answer, he left the mess.

Twin Twist watched him go, and once he was out of sight Twist scowled back down at his energon. Frag it all! He hadn't thought his behavior had been so obvious, except to Topspin. His twin, of course, had been trying to rouse him the past few nights to talk about it, but Twin Twist had stubbornly pretended to be too deep in recharge until Topspin gave up. To think everyone _else_ had noticed – Twist's drills gave a shuddery spin of embarrassment. In that respect, Kup was right. He was a Wrecker, not a pouter. It took another few kliks of Twist gripping his glass tight in his servo and grinding his dentals until he finally pounded back the entirety of it and left the mess himself. 

He knew where to find his brother. There was a small office on the ship, smaller than Kup and Springer's and only slightly bigger than a closet, that Topspin had taken over for his cartography work. Usually the crew would hook into the ship and navigate from there, but Topspin liked to plan everything out to the detail, mapping charts and star systems and trade routes, before uploading all of this into the ship's AI. Considering that Topspin wasn't in their habsuite, as that was where Twin Twist had been before coming to the mess, and knowing Topspin wasn't on shift either, that's the only other place he could be. Twin Twist's steps were heavy as he made his way through the ship's interior. He doesn't pass anybody except Springer, and though he kept his helm down in hopes of walking past the SIC without incident, he heard his name being called and stopped with an exaggerated rolling of his optics.

“Yeah?” he asked, turning to face the triplechanger. Springer was giving him that stern look he tried to pretend he hadn't picked up off of Kup, and oh _slag_ it.

“Kup talk to you?” Yup, Twin Twist's suspicions were confirmed. “He told me he would.”

Twin Twist groaned. “Yeah, he did, and yeah, I'm working on it.”

“Hey, don't groan at me, mech, you brought this on yourself.” Springer's expression relaxed a bit, and for that at least, Twist was glad. Springer tended to be a little easier on you unless you'd done something _really_ stupid. “And glad to hear it. Gotta keep ship's morale up, all that. Hard to do when someone decides they're gonna mope around for days.”

“I wasn't _moping_ ,” Twist said defensively, shoulders hunching in a way that indicates that yes, he absolutely had been moping. Springer smirked.

“Sure, sure, whatever helps you recharge at night. Good luck with taking care of whatever had you in such a stink.” 

Springer turned on his pede and continued on his way as Twin Twist bit back another groan. They'd probably all been _gossiping_ about it. The Wreckers weren't usually the type of bots to do that sort of thing, but that didn't mean it didn't happen. Primus. _Embarrassing_.

Twin Twist wasn't interrupted again as he continued trudging toward Topspin's little hideaway, but his pedes did slow as he grew closer, his spark sinking further and further in his chassis even as it gave shivery, anxious little pulses. He really, really didn't want to do this, but confronting his brother seemed like a lot better option than getting benched because he couldn't take care of his own problems.

When he finally reached the office he hesitated outside of the door, servo hovering over the panel to ping his arrival. He knew Topspin knew he was there – distance didn't really matter with their 'vicarious perception', but closeness did help, sometimes, and he could tell even through the door that Topspin had stilled, feeling Twist standing outside. Twin Twist offlined his optics, cycled a deep, slow vent through his systems, then onlined them again before pressing his digit to the panel.

The door slid open immediately, and there Topspin stood, behind his desk, surrounded by datapads, a holographic image of some star system or other projecting from a device on his desk. Despite the visor, Twist knew his brother's optics were locked on him.

“Twin Twist,” Topspin said, voice carefully neutral. Twin Twist had to fight the urge to bolt, instead stepping inside. When the door slid shut behind him he had the extremely unnerving sensation of being trapped.

“Hey. I, uh. I wanted to talk to you.”

“Did you.” Topspin didn't look away as he slowly gestured a servo at the stuff all over his desk. “Kinda busy right now.”

Twin Twist couldn't hide a wince. He deserved that. “Yeah, I – I know but. It's kind of. Important.” Topspin didn't respond right away, still staring at Twist as he let the silence stretch on for an awkwardly long period of time. It was when Twin Twist started to fidget, dentals chewing his lower lip and plating flaring nervously, that Topspin finally nodded.

“Alright. Talk.”

Topspin sure wasn't going to make this easy on him, was he. “I. I'm sure you noticed I've, um. Been kind of. Avoiding you lately.” The derisive huff of a vent Topspin gave made it clear that, why _yes_ , he _did_. Twin Twist reset his vocalizer. “I was just. After. After what happened, I couldn't--” Oh frag he was really making a mess of this already. 

“It was hard to, to be around you. I thought about some of the things you said and I guess--” He let it out in a rush, now, as if the words were racing to get out of him before he swallowed them back forever, “--I was kind of _scared_ , of what we did, what it meant. Like it shouldn't have felt as good as it did, I should've been more ashamed and that scared me, Spin, because I--” The race abruptly came to a halt as Twin Twist nearly choked on the last words, “--I _wasn't_.”

Topspin continued staring, and Twin Twist's spark shuddered in dread. He'd really done it this time. He couldn't even tell what Topspin was feeling about his admission; he was still too far away to glean anything from Topspin's EM field, and his twin had clamped down hard on his end of their connection. Twin Twist had never figured out how to do that, and, likely for situations like this one, Topspin had never told him. Twist waited where he was, fidgeting again, and when Topspin remained silent for a few more kliks he threw in the towel.

“I guess I, I should go.” Twist pivoted so fast he nearly stumbled, but before he could reach the door he heard a, “Twist, wait!” and then Topspin had caught him by the arm.

“Don't – just – wait an astrosecond, would you?” He heard Topspin sigh, but Twin Twist couldn't bear to face his twin right now, so he stayed frozen, the only movement a quivering half-spin of his drills. When Topspin gently used his grip on Twist's arm to turn him around, Twist kept his optics on Topspin's chassis, at least until a digit beneath his chin had his helm tilting up to look Topspin in the face. Twin Twist's spark nearly extinguished itself in shock when he saw that Topspin was smiling softly.

“And here I thought you were avoiding me because you were upset, or pissed or something. When you wouldn't talk to me at all, or pretend to be recharging – and I _knew_ you were pretending, afthole – I thought...” This time Topspin was the one who averted his gaze, before saying, in a near whisper, “I thought you hated me.”

“What!” The exclamation was so sudden and loud that it startled them both, enough so that Topspin dropped his servo. Twin Twist gave a staticky cough before continuing a bit sheepishly, “I could never hate you, Spin, unless you became a 'Con, and even then I'd mercy kill you.”

Topspin chuckled, said servo rising to rub nervously at the back of his helm. “Well you know I'd do the same for you, bro, but.” His helm tilted up in a way Twin Twist recognized as his optics flicking back to Twist's. “You can see where I'm coming from, right?”

“Yeah, I – I guess, but--” Twin Twist forced fluid down his intake. “That wasn't it at all. I just – I thought about. How you mentioned the way you touched Gearshaft, right? Because you knew – you knew--” He couldn't say it aloud, but he didn't need to; Topspin would understand what he was trying to say. And Twist remembered that night well. Through their connection, he'd felt what Topspin was feeling as he 'faced with the green and gray mini, and he'd known what Topspin was doing. He'd shuddered on his own berth when Topspin had touched the places on Gearshaft that were most sensitive on Twist. At the time he'd thought it was just a coincidence, and then...

“You said you'd done it on purpose,” he continued. “As if - as if you'd wanted it to be _me_.” 

Topspin was staring at him again (he really needed to stop, it wasn't helping Twin Twist's anxious tics at all), and he hesitated before admitting, “I had. Wanted it to be you, I mean.” When Twin Twist's optics widened and his lips parted in surprise, Topspin sighed out a vent, turning away and walking back toward his desk. He leaned forward, placing his servos flat on the desktop, and didn't look back as he started speaking.

“I don't know when I figured it out.” His voice was quiet, so much so that Twin Twist actually had to take a few steps forward to hear him. “How I...felt. What I wanted. A while ago, but a specific date? No clue. I didn't say anything, made sure you couldn't feel it through our link, because I didn't want to freak you out.” He chuckled, a self-deprecating sound. “Because, like you said when – that night, we probably _shouldn't_ be doing that. So who knew what you would think? Would you be disgusted with me, start hating me for wanting what I likely shouldn't want?” From the way Topspin was talking, this sounded like an argument he'd been having with himself for years. 

“And then....I knew you did stuff like that, ha, we _all_ self service, but when I heard you, I couldn't hold it back anymore. And when you actually _let_ me...” Twin Twist could see his twin's servos tightening on the edge of the desk, almost hard enough that there may be dents when he pulls them away. “Primus, Twist, it was like I'd been given the matrix! Until I woke up and you were gone. No note, no comm, nothing.” 

Topspin's words were so spark-rendingly sad sounding that Twin Twist actually flinched. It was an aft move, running the way he had, and he'd obviously really hurt Topspin by doing it. The avoidance and refusal to talk afterward probably didn't help, either. Twin Twist was chewing his lip again, unsure what to say to that. Was there anything he _could_ say? Unlikely; Topspin was the one who was good at articulating himself verbally. So he went with what felt right.

Closing the distance between them, Twin Twist put his arms around Topspin's middle, moving carefully and slowly so as not to startle his twin. He felt Topspin stiffen, but when the cartographer didn't pull away Twist leaned in and gently brushed his lips against the side of Topspin's helm.

“I'm sorry,” he murmured, pulling Topspin back against him. The tension slid out of his frame when Topspin went without protest, and he held Topspin, fitting himself against his twin's back while pressing another kiss to his helm. “I shouldn't have run like that, I'm sorry.”

“You're right, you shouldn't have.” Topspin's voice was teasing, though, and Twin Twist could picture the twist of a smirk on Topspin's face even as the cartographer lightly shoved an elbow into Twist's middle. It made Twin Twist laugh before he sobered again.

“So am I forgiven?”

“Yeah, I guess. But you owe me one!” Topspin turned in Twin Twist's arms to wrap his own around Twist's neck and bring their forehelms together. Twin Twist could feel Topspin's vents ghosting over his face. “And, seriously, Twist, you ever pull that scrap on me again, I'm beating your aft to a pulp.”

“Like you could,” Twin Twist shot back with a smirk, then leaned in for a quick press of his lips to Topspin's before his twin could respond. With his mouth still on Topspin's, he added, “Though you're welcome to try.” 

Twist was rewarded with a rev of Topspin's engines and the click of Spin's fans coming to life before Topspin growled, “Challenge accepted,” and dragged Twin Twist down onto the floor.


End file.
